When I think of Halloween, I think hot dogs. People tend to find this
association odd, some are even angered by it, but to me it feels
perfectly natural. When I was younger, my mother used to grill hot
dogs in our driveway for the trick or treaters and dole out beer in red
plastic cups to the adults, providing a bit of a respite for parents
whose kids were running around the neighborhood injected with copious
amounts of sugar. I was never much of a walker and I never got off on
travelling in packs (why I live in New York I don't know), but
even more importantly, I loved and still adore a good hot dog.
Essentially, this ritual made my Halloween quite perfect.
The ritual ended, sadly, when I moved to New York to go to
college. There are very few driveways in Manhattan, and there is a bar
or a Gray's Papaya on every street corner, so if people need a beer or
a frank, they are basically set year round. Nobody shared my passion
for hot dogs at Halloween, unless they were terribly after drunk taking
too many orange jello shots at some themed downtown party, in which
case that little beef wonder became something of a valuable commodity,
a bonafide savior in fact. After exhaustingly pushing the merits of
Halloween hot dog to countless friends, I decided the 4th of July was
to blame for my defeat. Try as I might, I couldn't get anyone to
disassociate the images of the American flag and the German wiener.
Last
year I completely missed Halloween altogether. It was a travesty. I
was living in Florence and the pagan ritual is still just catching on
over there, so you're lucky to see a couple of sheet covered children
on the streets past 8 o'clock, while the only other option is to go to
to the American Bar and play beer pong with scantily clad college girls
dressed as nurses and flight attendants. I am not into half-assed
holiday celebration, and so I chose not to acknowledge the 31st.
This year is a completely different story. To me, Halloween is
back in a very big way, and I will greet its arrival with what else?,
hot dogs. After deconstructing all the elements of the sausage, from
its texture to its shape to its color, I have come up with three
Halloween inspired recipes to silence my critics and promote the union
of the dish and the beloved day:
Freaky Fingers/Terrible Toes
Carve out part of a hot dog or pre-cooked sausage to look like a
digit. Drop ketchup or bbq sauce into carved area to resemble a bloody
toenail. Cut 1/2 inch wide strips of flour tortillas and wrap around
the sausages to resemble bandages.
Crescent Mummy Dogs
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Using crescent rolls, unroll dough; separate
at perforations, creating four rectangles. With knife, cut each
rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making 40 pieces of dough. Slice
cheese slices into quarters. Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot
dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like 'bandages'. About 1/2 inch
from one end of each hot dog, separate 'bandages' so hot dog shows
through for 'face.' On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot
dogs; spray dough with cooking spray. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until
dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw
features on 'face.' (from <pilsbury.com)
The Adult Halloween Hot Dog
This twist on the hot dog is largely based on color schemes and appeals
to a gourmet sensibility. Simply grill your standard hot dog to one's
taste. Instead of the typical condiment toppings, try the festive
blend of mango chutney, chopped red onion relish, fresh cilantro, and
dijon mustard. This gives the hot dog a flavorful upgrade and a
Halloween friendly motif.
Hope Stranger is the creative manager for www.celebrifantasy.com. She lives in New York City.